Newly updated for Rails 5, the Ruby on Rails Tutorial book and screencast series teach you how to develop and deploy real, industrial-strength web applications with Ruby on Rails, the open-source web framework that powers top websites such as Twitter, Hulu, GitHub, and the Yellow Pages. The Ruby on Rails Tutorial book is available for free online and is available for purchase as an ebook (PDF, EPUB, and MOBI formats). The companion screencast series includes 14 individual lessons, one for each chapter of the Ruby on Rails Tutorial book.

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The Rails 5 version (4th edition) of the Ruby on Rails Tutorial ebook in EPUB, MOBI, and PDF formats

Over 700 pages of content

Fully updated for the latest version of Rails

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About the Author

Michael Hartl

Michael Hartl is the creator of the Ruby on Rails Tutorial, one of the leading introductions to web development, and is a cofounder of Learn Enough to Be Dangerous self-publishing platform. His prior experience includes writing and developing RailsSpace, an extremely obsolete Rails tutorial book, and developing Insoshi, a once-popular and now-obsolete social networking platform in Ruby on Rails. In 2011, Michael received a Ruby Hero Award for his contributions to the Ruby community. He is a graduate of Harvard College, has a Ph.D. in Physics from Caltech, and is an alumnus of the Y Combinator entrepreneur program.

CUSTOMER REVIEWS
(113)

I love it.

I love it. I now have rails fundamentals down.

by
James M
on February 26, 2017 at 22:17

The Best Way to Learn Ruby on Rails

We have many experiences about developing websites with PHP, but recently by request from customers, we started a team to play with Ruby on Rails technology.
It's very fun & easy to create website after we found your tutorial on the web. With fundamental knowledge we had before, we can master Ruby on Rails for production in short time (about a week).
Thank you very much, Michael Hartl!

by
CTO@vistarsoft
on February 12, 2017 at 04:11

Exactly Right!

Michael Hartl's tutorial is a fundamental element in getting going with Rails. Creating a great tutorial is a feat in an of itself, keeping it updated is really great.
I highly recommend anyone starting out (or even refreshing their knowledge) with Rails to get their hands on this tutorial and follow it through.
Great work!

My former company (CD Baby) was one of the first to loudly switch to Ruby on Rails, and then even more loudly switch back to PHP… This book by Michael Hartl came so highly recommended that I had to try it, and the Ruby on Rails Tutorial is what I used to switch back to Rails again… Though I’ve worked my way through many Rails books, this is the one that finally made me “get” it.

Peter Cooper
-
Ruby Inside

I got review access to all of the material and can confirm that, yes, these screencasts are awesome… If you basically want to be able to look “over the shoulder” of an experienced Rails developer and see how a Rails development environment is set up and how multiple apps are built, there’s nothing that can beat this. This isn’t a set of “build a blog in 15 minutes” videos—it’s a complete course that could kick off a new career for you with Rails.

Alan McCann
-
COO, DailyUpdate.com

Michael’s original Ruby on Rails tutorial got me from someone who read Rails books to someone who actually was able to develop basic Rails apps—his teaching methodology somehow got me involved like no other book and allowed me to produce results quickly and gain confidence. The new screencast series got me to a whole other level of understanding.

Imagine going through the tutorial but having the pro-level developer behind the tutorial giving you a running commentary with tips, tricks, and useful detours—all while contributing to your growth as a Rails developer with a test-driven approach. I’ve always known that understanding how experts think about what they do is the key to learning and mastering something. In this screencast format, Michael was able to go beyond the limitations of the written word and both show and explain his approach to Rails development in an engaging manner.

If you are early in your days with Rails, just buy this series.

Mike Riley
-
Dr. Dobbs

Written and presented by theoretical physicist Michael Hartl, Ruby on Rails Tutorial offers a superb introduction to the world of a Rails developer. The Rails Tutorial PDF and complete training video set is an absolutely top-notch package for learning the Rails framework…”

I can’t emphasize enough how much I enjoyed the Ruby on Rails Tutorial book+video bundle. railstutorial.org will no doubt educate legions of beginning and intermediate Rails developers, and will be one of those resources that students who complete the book and video course will refer to often. Because Michael offers the full contents of the book available for free on the website, both the book and videos are sure to become some of the most frequently cited educational references among Rails students. This package will no doubt play a major catalytic role in many Rails technical training and development careers.

If you have any interest in Rails, you owe it to yourself and your educational investment to obtain this superb package. It will likely be one of the best and most educationally rewarding purchases you will make this year.

FAQ

What are Ruby and Ruby on Rails?

Ruby is a general-purpose programming language, and Ruby on Rails (or “Rails” for short) is a framework for making web applications written in Ruby.

Why should I learn Ruby on Rails?

Ruby on Rails is one of the most powerful and popular web development frameworks available, used by sites like Twitter, GitHub, Airbnb, and Hulu. Learning Rails will give you the tools you need to make your own web applications, while also putting you in a good position to work for a web development consultancy, startup, or other tech company.

What is the Ruby on Rails Tutorial?

The Ruby on Rails Tutorial: Learn Web Development with Rails is the 4th edition of a book and a screencast series designed to teach web development with the Ruby on Rails web framework.

Who should study the Ruby on Rails Tutorial?

The Ruby on Rails Tutorial is designed for anyone who wants to learn how to develop web applications. This audience includes entrepreneurs, small business owners, aspiring developers, and experienced developers with experience in other languages or frameworks.

Is the Ruby on Rails Tutorial appropriate for complete beginners?

The Ruby on Rails Tutorial is likely to be very challenging if you have no programming experience at all, but many beginners have reported that they were able to get through it with enough determination (in some cases, by going through the entire tutorial twice!).

What are the prerequisites for the Ruby on Rails Tutorial?

There are no formal prerequisites, but I recommend familiarity with HTML and CSS, and some previous programming experience is helpful.

Does the Rails Tutorial use the latest version of Rails?

Yes, The Ruby on Rails Tutorial: Learn Web Development with Rails is fully up-to-date with the latest version of Rails.

What does the Ruby on Rails Tutorial cover?

Here are the chapter titles for the 4th edition of the Ruby on Rails Tutorial:

How is the screencast series related to the book’s content?

The screencast series includes all the content from the book, while adding dozens of tips and tricks to help you go beyond the text, including debugging hints, testing techniques, and more detailed explanations of some of the finer points of web development. And though the screencasts are carefully edited, I’ve left in some of the problems I encountered along the way, so that you can learn how to recover from the inevitable application errors—and see that even experts sometimes make mistakes.

The screencasts are based on the 4th edition of the Ruby on Rails Tutorial.

What about single-page web frameworks like Angular, Backbone, and Ember?

While some applications benefit from a JavaScript-heavy front-end, most applications are still more naturally structured as a collection of documents, and Rails is a better fit for this more common case. In addition, JavaScript frameworks like Angular and Ember still need a back-end to process requests, talk to the database, etc.—a job at which Rails excels. (Indeed, two of the core Ember developers are also current and former members of the Rails core team.)

Do I have to buy a subscription to the Cloud9 IDE to complete the Rails Tutorial?

No, Cloud9 has a free tier that is perfect for doing the tutorial without committing to a monthly fee.

Are the previous versions of the Rails Tutorial still available online?

Should I report a tiny typo I found?

Typo reports, no matter how small, are gratefully received. My only request is that you check the online version first to make sure the typo hasn’t already been corrected. Please send reports via email to the address below.

How do I contact the author?

You can reach me by email at admin at railstutorial dot org.

Do you offer a money-back guarantee?

MORE INFO

The Ruby on Rails Tutorial helps you learn Rails by example through the development of a substantial sample application, including a site layout, a user data model, a full registration and authentication system, user-micropost associations, social “following”, and a feed of status updates. The Ruby on Rails Tutorial also teaches good software development practices, including version control with Git and GitHub, test-driven development (TDD) and integration testing, and instant deployment with Heroku. Though of necessity the book and screencasts focus on a specific sample application, the emphasis throughout the Rails Tutorial is on general principles, so you will have a solid foundation no matter what kind of web application you want to build.

New in the current edition

Fully updated for the latest version of Rails

Use of a free integrated development environment in the cloud for maximum cross-platform compatibility

100% default stack use of the Rails framework for greatest ease of use

Lightweight, intuitive approach to testing

Completely rewritten chapter on login and authentication

All-new section on image upload

All-new chapter on account activation and password resets, including sending email with Rails

Strong focus on universal principles of web development

Translations

Translations of the Ruby on Rails Tutorial are available in several languages:

Third edition

Earlier versions

Help

Web development is a tricky business, and despite the best efforts of the
tutorial it’s likely that you’ll run into trouble at some point. If you do, I suggest comparing your code to the reference implementation of the sample app to track down any discrepancies. You can also post your question at Stack Overflow using
the tag railstutorial.org. (Click
here to
see questions labeled with that tag.) The creators of the
Learn_Rails subreddit have
graciously offered to answer questions as well.

Did you copy-and-paste from the book’s code? (Experience shows that typing in code, while a better learning technique in general, is error-prone, so when in doubt be sure to copy all code exactly.)

Did you re-run bundle install?

Did you try running bundle update?

Did you try Googling the error message?

If your problem is of a general nature, such as having issues installing
Rails or configuring your system, I suggest posting to Stack
Overflow (again using the tag
railstutorial.org), sending a message to the
Ruby on Rails Talk
mailing list, or posting to the Learn_Rails
subreddit. This will allow other
people running into your issue (and not just those following the Rails
Tutorial) to benefit from the discussion. You can also try asking your
question on the Rails IRC channel
(#rubyonrails) to get live assistance
from other Rails programmers. For issues
deploying to Heroku, please contact Heroku
technical support.

When asking your question on any mailing list or forum, be sure to
include as much relevant information as possible. To maximize your chances
of a helpful reply, I especially recommend the article How To Ask Questions The Smart
Way by Eric
Raymond.

Contact

I can be reached by email at admin at railstutorial dot org.

Affiliate notification

Michael Hartl is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.